The Indian women who are about to change history in Rio

Meet the Olympians

Olympian: Adjective; Having the qualities of a god.

Every four-year cycle, hundreds of amateur athletes devote the entire force of their being to achieving a title that has, through the course of history, come to signify the epitome of human physical endeavour. India, despite its trillion-dollar economy and vast human capital, remains one of the most challenging environments for these athletes to grow from mere mortals to that realm of greatness. They come from everywhere, these hopefuls. From heaving metropolises and nondescript, mofussil specks on the map alike. Most are bound by a common narrative of challenges—the lack of funds and facilities—and a constant battle with themselves. For the women of India who choose to dedicate a portion of their lives to fulfil childhood sporting dreams, there is another obstacle to surmount—womanhood itself. “In the village the girl is looked at as just a girl,” said Rani Rampal when we asked her if the sporting success of women from Haryana is changing the attitudes in the hinterland. These are not avowed feminists out to alter the balance of the universe. They are not gods, either, with powers to transcend the grey area between reality and the surreal. They are just girls who want to play; to have the opportunity to realise themselves to the fullest; to be elevated—if only for a fortnight—from the sobering harshness of real life to the ephemeral elation of glory.

Of the hundreds who put their selves in the fray, only a handful achieve the revered status of an Olympian. At last count, India will send more than 95 competitors to the Olympic Games in Rio. These women and men will go up against the best in the world, and against themselves, and they will push the boundaries of possibility just a few inches further down the line. Each of their stories is emotional and engaging. Each is bound by a leitmotif. This piece is a fleeting glimpse of some of those stories. A peek into the lives of these everyday gods.

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Rani Rampal, hockey, 21, Shahabad Markanda, Haryana

“Some of the people who used to tell my parents not to let me play are now putting their daughters into sport,” says 21-year old Rani Rampal. That’s all the vindication she needs. The slightly built youngster is everything her frame isn’t. In 2007, at age 13 (weighing just 36kgs), a “coach” made her carry an 80kg weight. Being written off awakened the beast inside. Today she is the team’s spearhead. Strong on the ball, quick and deceptive and blessed with an eye for the goal, Rampal is closing in on 150 games for the senior national team and has scored 78 times in internationals.

With Rampal leading, it is the first time the Indian women’s team has qualified for the Games in history. The only time Indian women have featured at this stage is at the boycotted 1980 Moscow Games. “It was great to score the goal that won us the game that secured qualification for Rio,” she says. “But we got there because of the work put in by every member of the team for four years.”

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Image: Getty

Vinesh Phogat, wrestling, 21

As far as women’s wrestling is concerned, the Phogat family is royalty. When Mahavir Singh Phogat decided his girls (Geeta and Babita) would be wrestlers, just as he was, the entire village turned against him. After years of this social exclusion and tension, in 2009, at the Commonwealth championships, both sisters won gold. Mahavir’s plan was playing out the way he had hoped. The sisters have since won medals at the Asian and World championships and inspired their cousin Vinesh to follow in their footsteps. Geeta was the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympics in 2012. Vinesh and Babita are heading to Rio to add another chapter to the family’s sporting story.

Such is the power of the Phogat story that Aamir Khan will play Mahavir in his next film Dangal, telling the tale to millions of Indians. Rio will be only the second time Indian women will compete on the mat at the Olympics. There is a long way for the sport to go before Indian women can compete against the Japanese, Russian and Canadian girls. Vinesh represents the vanguard of that growth. And though Vinesh might not be in contention for a medal in Rio, she will happily contend with those who say women can’t fight.

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Deepika Kumari, archery, 22, Ranchi, Jharkhand

Four years ago, Deepika Kumari was barely legal. Yet she was so good that all of India expected her to march into Lord’s and shoot her quiver full of arrows all the way to Olympic gold. One month before the London Games, Kumari became the No 1-ranked archer in the world, and India assumed the medal was hers for the taking. But just a teenager, she was out of sorts: a combination of rawness, nerves, ill health and her inability to counter the erratic wind speed and direction led to complete disaster, ending the dream before it even began. Now, more mature, she has learned to deal with the fickle press and public alike. Along with Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi she has already taken India past 100 nations into the top 16 in the world. “I was mentally weak,” she says. “But India needs a medal-winning performance in Rio for archery to be respected as a sport and I think we are ready to challenge for that medal.” The cycle of expectation starts all over again.

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Image: Getty

Dipa Karmakar, gymnastics, 23, Agartala, Tripura

“They treat me like a celebrity now,” says Karmakar, somewhat sheepishly. For good reason, too. Her achievements in a discipline that has never featured on the Indian sporting landscape are nothing short of astounding.

Enrolled in the Sports Authority of India’s Agartala centre by her father at age six, Karmakar started out under coach Bishbeshwar Nandi. The facilities were basic, to say the least. But Nandi saw something in his ward that made the duo stick. In 2014 that dedication started to pay off. Despite a swollen foot, Karmakar managed to win the first Commonwealth Games medal for an Indian woman in gymnastics. Later, she finished fourth at the Asian championships and in 2016 became the first Indian gymnast (and first woman) to qualify for the Olympics in 52 years.

The newfound celebrity status is welcome, but also a little daunting. Everyone from Sachin Tendulkar to Shah Rukh Khan has lauded Karmakar’s achievements publicly. Such has been the media frenzy that Karmakar and Nandi often turn off their mobile phones for a few days so they can concentrate on the work that has to be done.